UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSchools in England have been told they should ban pupils from using mobile phones and start searching students for the devices. Ministers want children to be barred from using devices on breaks as well as in class.In new guidance, they say headteachers “can and should identify mobile phones … as something that may be searched for” as part of their school behaviour policy. However, the guidance is non-statutory, meaning it is up to individual heads to decide their own policies and whether or not phones should be banned.One union branded the move a “non-policy for a non-problem”, arguing that most schools already ban phones during school hours.Unveiling the guidance, education secretary Gillian Keegan said schools were “places for children to learn and mobile phones are, at a minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom”. She said she was giving teachers the tools to improve behaviour and to “do what they do best – teach.” The guidance warns that, in some schools, the use of mobile phones remains a “daily battle”.It tells teachers that ministers believe “all schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day – not only during lessons but break and lunchtimes as well”.New government guidance says headteachers ‘can and should identify mobile phones … as something that may be searched for’ as part of their school behaviour policy The government argues that removing mobile phones can help children and young people spend more time being active and socialising face to face with their peers, which will help their mental health. In a foreword to the document, Ms Keegan said it would provide “clarity and consistency” for teachers and that there is currently “a large variation in how different schools are managing the use of mobile phones”.It suggests four ways school can ban mobiles. These include a rule of no mobiles on the school premises; that phones must be handed in on arrival; that they must be kept in a secure location, which the pupil does not access to, or that pupils can keep possession of their devices as long as they are “never used, seen or heard” – with strict consequences for breaches.However, it also notes some circumstances where pupils with medical conditions should use a phone, including those with diabetes who might use an app to monitor their glucose. The new guidance was hailed as a significant step by Ms Keegan, who originally pledged to bring forward reforms banning mobile phone use in schools at last October’s Tory conference.Tom Bennett, who advises the Department for Education on behaviour, said: “Many schools already have some kind of policy on phones, but this guidance provides a clear steer for everyone, including parents, about what’s right and what’s not for the wellbeing of the child.”The government pointed to recent official data that showed that nearly one in three – 29 per cent – secondary school pupils said mobile phones had been used when they were not supposed to be.But the Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton said that the “compulsive use” of devices was not happening in schools but “while children are out of school”.He said: “Most schools already forbid the use of mobile phones during the school day or allow their use only in limited and stipulated circumstances.“We have lost count of the number of times that ministers have now announced a crackdown on mobile phones in schools. It is a non-policy for a non-problem.“The government would be far better off putting its energies into bringing to heel the online platforms via which children are able to access disturbing and extreme content.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer has hit out at claims the Conservatives cannot win the next election as Labour faces another difficult week over its stance on Gaza.The Labour leader said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Rishi Sunak could not secure another term as prime minister. His warning to his party, and its potential voters, came as the SNP offered Sir Keir a meeting over this week’s expected Commons vote on a ceasefire in the Middle East. Sir Keir suffered a blow before Christmas when 10 of his frontbenchers quit or were sacked after a mass rebellion over a similar vote. Labour has yet to say how it will instruct its MPs to vote this week, saying it needs to see the wording of the SNP motion. Sir Keir told Scottish Labour’s conference in Glasgow that Labour wants “a ceasefire that lasts” in Gaza.He told delegates: “We all want to see a return of all the hostages taken on 7 October, an end to the killing of innocent Palestinians, a huge scaling up of humanitarian relief and an end to the fighting. Not just for now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A ceasefire that lasts. That is what must happen now. The fighting must stop now.”Earlier, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on the SNP, which faces losing potentially dozens of seats to Labour at the election, to work with them on the ceasefire motion.In his speech, Sir Keir warned some communities have found a new “political home” in the SNP and winning them back would be hard.He added: “No matter what the SNP say, the Tories can win the next election. Of course they can, politics is volatile. It’s ridiculous to say otherwise.“So I would also say this. Imagine – even if only for a second – what it will feel like if you wake up on the day after the election, and the Tories are back. Encouraged again, emboldened again, entitled again.”Keir Starmer issued his warning at Scottish Labour’s conference in Glasgow Earlier, former Labour leader Lord Kinnock said he was “convinced now that we’re not going to lose”.Asked on Sky News whether Sir Keir would be in No 10, he said: “Yes. And I look forward to that very much because I think he would be a mature, honest, dependable leader of a party. And by God, we need all that now.”Last week Labour was forced to ditch its candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election after he claimed Israel had allowed the Hamas massacre that killed 1,200. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has demanded answers after the former chairman of the Post Office said he was told to “stall” on compensation for subpostmasters ahead of the general election.Henry Staunton was ousted last month after less than a year in the role after the business secretary Kemi Badenoch declared “new leadership” was needed. Her intervention came as politicians faced intense pressure over an ITV drama which highlighted the appalling miscarriage of justice. Hundreds of postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted over a decade and a half because of faulty IT software, called Horizon. No 10 has confirmed the estimated final compensation bill is around £1bn. Mr Staunton, the former boss of WH Smith, said a senior civil servant suggested holding back spending ahead of the election.He told The Sunday Times: “Early on [in the role], I was told by a fairly senior person to stall on spend on compensation and on the replacement of Horizon, and to limp, in quotation marks – I did a file note on it – limp into the election.“It was not an anti-postmaster thing, it was just straight financials. I didn’t ask, because I said ‘I’m having no part of it – I’m not here to limp into the election, it’s not the right thing to do by postmasters.’“The word ‘limp’ gives you a snapshot of where they were.”The government has denied Mr Staunton’s claims but Labour said it would seek “answers” in the row in parliament this week.A government spokesperson said: “We utterly refute these allegations.” They said ministers had sped up compensation payments and encouraged other postmasters to come forward with claims. “To suggest any actions or conversations happened to the contrary is incorrect. In fact, upon appointment, Mr Staunton was set concrete objectives, in writing, to focus on reaching settlements with claimants – clear evidence of the government’s intent.”The drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, highlighted the long legal fight for justice by subpostmasters. Many, including leading campaigner Alan Bates, have since complained about unnecessary delays to victims in receiving compensation.More than 700 branch managers were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after the accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “These are incredibly serious allegations. Under no circumstances should compensation to victims be delayed and to do so for party political purposes would be a further insult to subpostmasters.” Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson said the allegations were “not something that I accept or recognise”. He told Times Radio: “It’s right to say the whole government has been encouraging subpostmasters to come forward to claim the compensation that they deserve, after what was the biggest travesty of justice that we’ve seen. And we’re encouraging postmasters to come forward and claim the compensation that they deserve.”Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “These allegations are deeply disturbing and ministers must come to parliament and explain exactly what has happened at the earliest opportunity.“The victims of this horrific miscarriage of justice need swift and fair compensation. It is the least they deserve.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer’s new chief of staff Sue Gray has taken the extraordinary step of denying she was ever a spy. Ms Gray shot to fame when she compiled the Partygate report into events at Downing Street during lockdown. Her damning findings were widely seen as hastening Boris Johnson’s departure from No 10. Once so powerful in the Cabinet Office that she was described by a minister as the person who really “runs Britain”, news of Ms Gray being hired by Labour while still a civil servant was greeted with fury by the former prime minister. Rumours that she was a spy centre on a period in her life when, during a career break in the 1980s, she briefly ran a pub in Northern Ireland – the Cove Bar in Mayobridge, Co Down, a short drive from the border with the Republic of Ireland. Asked in a new biography of the Labour leader if she had been working for British intelligence at the time, Ms Gray laughed and said: “I’m definitely not a spy and no, I never have been.”The book also reveals that Sir Keir had always wanted a civil servant for the post, to help him prepare for transition into government. On Ms Gray, he said: “When all this nonsense blew up and some people were asking if I should still go ahead, I was willing to wait for her because of Sue’s obvious integrity, rather than her lack of it.”Keir Starmer: The Biography, serialised in The Times, also reveals Sir Keir considered resigning after a crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election in 2021. Labour had held the seat since it was created in 1974.Biographer Tom Baldwin was told the party leader told close aides in the immediate wake of the vote that he was going to quit, before being persuaded otherwise.According to the book, Sir Keir’s wife Vic was among those who urged him not to act hastily.Sue Gray: ‘I’m definitely not a spy and no, I never have been’Another key figure who helped keep Sir Keir in his post was Morgan McSweeney, who remains Labour’s highly influential director of campaigns.Since then, Labour has seen a dramatic turnaround in the polls, suggesting it is on course to win the keys to No 10 later this year. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailUkrainians who fled to the UK for sanctuary will be allowed to stay for at least an extra 18 months as the world prepares to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion. Ministers said the move would provide “reassurance” as the war continues. On Saturday, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky warned global leaders his country’s fight against Vladimir Putin‘s forces was being held back by a lack of long-range weapons. His call came as both foreign secretary Lord Cameron and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer gave firm messages of support for Kyiv at the Munich Security Conference. Lord Cameron has been among European leaders urging US politicians to pass a billion-dollar foreign aid package for Ukraine. The first visas for those fleeing Ukraine granted three years leave in the UK under a number of programmes which were set to expire in March of next year.But these will be extended for another 18 months, the Home Office has said.As the two-year anniversary approaches later this month, the legal migration minister Tom Pursglove said “over 200,000 Ukrainians and their family members have arrived in Britain. Families across the country have opened their homes and their hearts to the people of Ukraine, showing extraordinary generosity, including offering shelter to those fleeing from the horrors of war.“This new visa extension scheme provides certainty and reassurance for Ukrainians in the UK on their future as this war continues, and we will continue to provide a safe haven for those fleeing the conflict.”A demonstrator holds a placard opposing Russia’s nuclear threat during a Munich protest Housing and communities minister Felicity Buchan appealed for more families to come forward to open their homes to those still fleeing the war. “As more families arrive, we will need more sponsors to come forward,” she said. “I encourage anyone interested in hosting to check their eligibility and apply as soon as they can.”Eduard Fesko, the charge d’affaires at the embassy of Ukraine to the UK, described the extensions as “a clear signal of the continuous support” by the government. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDavid Cameron has said the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is “not up for discussion” as he prepares to visit in a show of support for its population. The new Argentinian president, Javier Milei, pledged during his recent election campaign that he would gain sovereignty over the islands.He has said Buenos Aires had “non-negotiable sovereignty” over the islands, although he has vowed to get the islands back through “diplomatic channels”.Downing Street insists the issue of sovereignty is “settled”. A referendum in 2013 saw islanders overwhelmingly vote to remain a self-governing UK overseas territory. Ahead of his visit, foreign secretary Lord Cameron said: “The Falkland Islands are a valued part of the British family, and we are clear that as long as they want to remain part of the family, the issue of sovereignty will not be up for discussion.” He described the islands as a “modern, prosperous community” and said locals “should be proud” of what they had built. Lord Cameron will pay his respects to the British armed forces personnel who served and lost their lives during the Falklands War in 1982 after Argentinian forces invaded. Foreign secretary Lord David CameronHe is also expected to thank the military serving on the islands today. The visit will be the first part of a trip that will also see him become the first foreign secretary to visit Paraguay. After that he will travel to a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Brazil and then on to New York. Mr Milei, who has been nicknamed “El Loco” or the madman, is reported to have said during a televised election debate: “What do I propose? Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas islands is non-negotiable. The Malvinas are Argentinian.“Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution. We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels.”Mr Milei has also proposed that the UK hand over the Falklands in a similar way to how Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in the late 1990s. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLord Austin has been suspended as the chair of a housing association over a social media post in which he described Hamas as “Islamist rapists and murderers”. Midland Heart, which is based in Birmingham, also said a meeting has been arranged to discuss removing Lord Austin from the board. But the decision was criticised by Michael Gove, the housing secretary, who said he was seeking an “urgent meeting and explanation” with the group, which provides affordable homes and receives public funding.He also described Lord Austin as a “champion for affordable housing, (who) he has spent his career fighting racism”. In a post on X/Twitter, the peer, a former aide to Gordon Brown, said: “Everyone, better safe than sorry: before you go to bed, nip down and check you haven’t inadvertently got a death cult of Islamist murderers and rapists running their operations downstairs. It’s easily done.”He later deleted it saying: “People have complained about a tweet I issued at the weekend about Hamas’ operations centre being underneath UNRWA’s ( the UN refugee agency’s) offices” in Gaza.“It was not my intention to offend anyone and I have deleted it. As I have written and said many times – including in a national newspaper today – the vast majority of Muslims are just as appalled by racism and terrorism as everyone else.”Austin deleted the tweet, saying that he didn’t mean to offend anyone He told the Daily Telegraph: “The word ‘Islamists’ is very clearly a reference not to Muslim people but to extremists.”He accused “politically motivated bullies” of deliberately misinterpreting his comments about Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in Israel in a massacre at the start of October. “I am particularly appalled that people are claiming the word ‘Islamist’ refers to all Muslims and it is disgraceful for people to claim this is in some way ‘Islamophobic’,” he said. Lord Austin quit Labour in protest under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, when the party was dogged by accusations of antisemitism. Midland Heart have been approached for comment. More